Olympians look to profit from Games success
RIO DE JANEIRO — With medals in hand, now a different kind of work begins for Olympic athletes leaving these Rio Games.
Finding sponsors that fit their brands.
As these Summer Olympics head toward their conclusion, athletes are the most marketable they’ll be in a quadrennium. Michael Phelps and Simone Biles have been the top U.S. performers.
But Olympic gold isn’t the only thing sponsors are looking for.
“I think any time someone puts multiple medals around their neck, it raises their profile,” says Joe Favorito, a sports marketing expert and professor at Columbia. “But again, they have to take the time to invest and spend the time to build that brand. It’s not just someone who can walk in and say, ‘I have all these medals now. Where’s my money?’”
That sort of messaging has led to a democratization of sorts for sponsors. No longer do the top medal earners rake in the bulk of the deals.
To be sure, they still get the biggest ones. Phelps claimed six medals here to finish his career with 28 medals, 23 of them gold.
Biles, meanwhile, tied a U.S. record with five medals and tied an Olympic record with four golds.
Both will profit handsomely for their successes.
Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing expert and executive creative director for Baker Street Advertising, said athletes like Biles can expect to make $3 million to $5 million a year.
But other lesser-known athletes can leverage their medals and their stories, as well.
“I think it’s going to be different. I don’t think you’re going to see 25 athletes making seven figures,” said Favorito. “I think you’re going to see 50 to 75 athletes who can make good money.”
Beyond trips to the podium, athletes can distinguish themselves with big personalities and stories that transcend their sport and the Games, said Elizabeth Lindsey, managing partner at Wasserman.
Making decisions about what their brand is and what type of companies they would like to align themselves with needs to happen before the Games, she said. Now more than ever, athletes have in their phones the tools to cultivate that brand.
“It’s not just what NBC decides they want to cover in their profile stories,” said Lindsey. “You can sell your own profile. You can sell your own story on social media.”
That story helps, but so does the future.
Take gymnastics for example. The Final Five claimed nine Olympic medals and stands to profit from it. Laurie Hernandez, a 16-year-old in her first major international meet as a senior, claimed balance beam silver.
She’s likely to be back for Tokyo in four years, but Biles — who is already sponsored by Nike, Core Power and Tide — plans to take some time off before deciding.
“I guess you have to look at Gabby Douglas as an example,” said Dorfman of the 2012 all-around champion. “She was the ‘it' girl after London and the ‘who is she?’ girl in Rio. Kind of there’s a backlash against her, which was really horrible. You sort of have to weight it and say, OK, do I think Simone Biles is going to have staying power?”
Many sponsors are sure to think so as Biles is viewed by many as the greatest gymnast of all time. But the example highlights the power of personality and story as much as success.
Hernandez’s charismatic personality — she’s nicknamed The Human Emoji — can only help. In fact, on Thursday, a sponsorship deal was announced for Hernandez with Crest, and for her mother, Wanda Hernandez, to be part of the Procter & Gamble "Thank You Mom" program.
Fencer Ibtihaj Muhammed earned a bronze in team sabre here, but she has drawn attention, praise and sponsors as the first woman to compete in a hijab.
“The biggest change I’ve seen in how athletes are thinking about branding themselves in the last five to 10 years is that you can’t wait until after your professional career is over to start thinking about what your legacy should be,” said Lindsey. “Athletes now are realizing they are brands, and in a lot of cases given their social media reach, they’re distribution outlets as well.”
Phelps is a rare example of transcending the Games.
Dorfman estimates the swimming legend has an advantage of a couple million dollars a year over other Olympians.
He certainly has a large advantage over some of his fellow swimmers. Katie Ledecky is tied for second behind Phelps with five medals while Simone Manuel claimed four, but both are headed to Stanford.
Dorfman said Ledecky in particular is likely leaving a few million dollars on the table, but longevity in the sport and returning for Tokyo can help her when she does go pro.
“I don’t think they’re losing as much,” said Favorito, “and their window probably will be a lot longer assuming they stay healthy and competitive as well.”
While social media allows companies to target a greater number of Olympians to tell their stories — and to see the return on their investment — financial success does not come for all.
There are nearly 11,000 athletes here, and most would not be able to live on endorsement money, experts agreed.
“Most of the Olympians are really only cashing in on endorsements for the month or two leading up to the Games, during the Games and maybe a week or two after,” Dorfman said. “And then they kind of fade from public attention.”
But now the iron is hot, and athletes are looking to strike.
With only a few days of competition left, athletes who are done can look forward to the opportunities that await. And even more could find themselves in that position by the time the Games close on Sunday.
“The beauty of the Olympics is it’s not over yet,” said Lindsey. “I guarantee you, at least one story that will come out of the Olympics hasn’t even been written yet. It’ll be written in the last few days.”
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